There are many browsers available for Android, several of which serving as mobile counterparts to their desktop alternatives. Opera comes to mind here, as does Firefox. The latter browser has received an update to version 31 and received a number of new features in the process. The top item on the ol' changelog is the ability to reorder homescreen panels (or pages, as I think of them). If you happen to view your reading list more often than bookmarks, for example, then you can now re-arrange the two so that your preferred page comes first.

There comes a point in time when an app steps out of the awkward, prepubescent 2.0 years and hits the big 3.0. For Twitch, that time is now. The game broadcast viewing app has transitioned to a whole new version number, and in the process it has matured into something more becoming. The flat, simplistic UI looks like something that should blend right in on modern KitKat devices.

A large media organization isn't worth its weight in salt if it doesn't have a dedicated news branch, so it should come as little surprise that the BBC has a sports app and that said app does occasionally get updates. Now that mobile piece of software has received Chromecast support, just in time for the 2014 Commonwealth Games* in Glasgow.

The Chromecast support lets users stream live video straight to their TVs.

LevelUp lets customers pay using their mobile phones at thousands of businesses across the country. The company's app simply opens up a barcode that, once scanned, handles the transaction. To make things even easier for users, an update is rolling out that adds support for Android Wear. So instead of scanning their phones, Wear device owners can have establishments scan their wrists instead.

The Wear app can shoot out a notification when wearers enter a place where they frequently pay with LevelUp, and, with a swipe and a tap, lets users open up the payment screen.

When the Google Maps Engine app hit Android in late 2013, it enabled users to view and share custom maps. Now an update has landed that empowers them to create and edit such maps as well. Users can spawn new ones, add layers, and move points around as needed. They can then go back and rename aspects as they wish.

The update has also introduced some UI changes, so while it may look largely the same, it's a little cleaner around the edges.

A month ago Facebook Pages Manager hit the big 2.0 and brought in a white, new UI to celebrate. It looks like the app had so much fun growing old that it's changing its number again. But what good is skipping up one number when it can do three? So the app has now hit 5.0. Say hello.

In the future, people will not only be surrounded by gadgets, they will be able to control everything by speaking. In this distant time roughly six or seven years from now, the basic voice commands we've grown accustomed to thus far will look like adorable relics of a bygone era. It looks like it may already be possible to get a taste of this promising way of life by configuring the latest version of AutoVoice.

Updates are typically exciting, but just like they can add new features, they can also take them away. Version 5.5 of PayPal's Android app tells precisely this type of story. The latest release adds in the ability to link loyalty cards to an account and reduce the strain on wallets everywhere. It also brings in faster logins, though this second change takes place behind the scenes, as the login screen looks just like it did before.

The Chrome developers have released a new version of their browser that may not have a particularly exciting changelog, but it does lead to a better browsing experience. Version 36 should make text on those websites that don't have a mobile alternative render somewhat better. This, combined with non-specified performance improvements and bug fixes, should result in more enjoyable browser use.

Text rendering on a non-mobile website using a previous version of Chrome.

Adobe has multiple Photoshop apps on the Play Store, and the simplest of the bunch has received an update to version 2.3 bringing in a number of new features. Adobe Photoshop Express now expands on the basic editing options it provides. For starters, the latest release lets users vary the intensity of filters.

Blemish removal is another standard photo editing feature introduced in version 2.3. Using the tool is as simple as poking on the spot you want to remove and tapping it again if the first time didn't do a good enough job.